Eight Reasons To Prioritize Your Hearing Health

Republished from the The Hearing Review

Hearing loss can creep up stealthily, like a thief in the night. Once hearing loss starts, it’s very difficult, if impossible, to reverse.

One of the major challenges of hearing care is convincing people to take preventative steps to protect their hearing before the irreversible damage occurs. How many people get regular hearing tests? All too often, people visit the doctor only after the problem gets too big to ignore.

Luckily, the Better Hearing Institute (BHI) has compiled a list of “8 Rousing Reasons to Put a Hearing Test on the Top of Your ‘Done List.’” This may help convince your patients that their hearing health is worth prioritizing. In this article, we’ll share the highlights, edited and adapted from the BHI website.

Improved Social Life – It makes perfect sense—being able to hear what’s going on around you leads to better relations with others, more engagement in activities, and an overall greater sense of optimism about the world. Who wouldn’t want to be around a person who enjoys life to the fullest extent?

Benefits for Your Mind – There have been studies that show a link between hearing loss and dementia. Though the research is still in its nascent stages, experts believe that treating hearing loss could help preserve cognitive function.

Better Job Performance – Communication is key to doing your job well. If you can’t comprehend directions or other vital information about the task at hand, your work will suffer. Being able to hear with no impediment will help you be at the top of your game.

Heart Health – Research shows that cardiovascular health is linked to hearing health. In some cases, cardiovascular abnormalities may be detected earlier in the sensitive inner ear, than elsewhere in the body. There are also a number of other conditions linked to hearing loss including diabetes, depression, sleep apnea, and the risk of hospitalization

Saving Money – According to the BHI, middle-aged people with hearing loss have about one-third more in health care payments than people without. Additionally, a BHI study showed that utilizing hearing aids lessens the risk of income loss by 90-100 percent for those with milder hearing loss, and from 65-77 percent for those with severe to moderate hearing loss. Even worse, people with untreated hearing loss lost up to $30,000 in annual income, according to the study.

Life Seems Easier to Tackle – Taking control of your hearing health, not surprisingly, gives you more confidence in other areas of your life. People who use hearing aids are more likely to handle obstacles proactively than those who leave their hearing loss untreated.

Prevents Depression – There is a link between depression and hearing loss in adults. However, BHI research shows that utilizing hearing aids can improve the quality of people’s lives. By treating the problem, people are less likely to feel hopeless or helpless against their hearing loss.

Easier to Communicate – Hearing loss can affect an individual in every aspect of their life: work, leisure activities like concerts, conversations with family and friends, and home life. By improving the way in which sound is transmitted, people are able to feel normal, communicate effectively, and have an overall better quality of life.

For more information on hearing health or to take a free, quick, confidential, online hearing test in Los Angeles, please contact Pacific Hearing in Los Angeles at(310) 455-8468.